Lille to offer Cole escape

Lille boss Rudi Garcia would be willing to bring Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole back to the club during the January transfer window.

Since returning from a loan spell at Lille, Cole has barely featured for Brendan Rodgers and has only played 35 minutes in the Premier League this season.
Cole was a big success in France during his loan spell there last season and helped the club - at the time reigning Frech champions - qualify for the Champions League for a second season in a row.

Garcia was eager to sing Cole's praises, but admitted that his reported £90,000-a-week wage was a reason for not taking him on permaently last summer.

"Joe is not only a great person, but also a great footballer," Garcia said. "But financially it was not possible to keep him. This can be prohibitive for the return of Joe to Lille. In both a sporting sense and a human sense, I'd love to see him back."